How To Preserve Dried Flowers

Dried flowers, when used in bouquets, wreaths or table arrangements, have a different charm compared to fresh flowers. Although they are not nearly as beautiful as fresh flowers, they last longer. Unfortunately, once the flowers are dry, they become brittle and crunchy, thus more prone to damage.

You can extend the life of your dried flowers by preserving them two ways. One is by spraying these with hairspray, while the other is by casting the flowers in resin. Resin is essentially liquid plastic that hardens encasing the dried flowers. You can use resin encased dried flowers for jewelry, other accessories and many more applications.

Hairspray Method

Materials

Dried flowers

Hairspray

Newspaper

Glass jar or box

Procedure

Place the dried flowers on top of a table covered with newspaper.

Lightly coat the dried flowers with hairspray to protect them from eventually falling apart. Don’t over spray because much moisture can damage them.

Allow the hairspray to set.

Place the dried flowers in a glass jar with a tight lid to keep air and dirt from entering the jar.

Store the glass jar in a cool dry place. If you want to display the flowers in the glass jar, make sure to keep it away from heat sources and direct sunlight.

Keep your treated dried flowers in a sealed box if you wish to store them. Before putting the dried flowers in the box, wrap them carefully with newspaper. Dried flowers are extremely fragile so be extra careful when wrapping them. Don’t cram all of the flowers in one box so as not to crush the dried flowers. Use several boxes if necessary.

Seal the box and store it in a warm, dry place.

Resin Method

Materials

Dried flowers

Epoxy clear-coat spray or Clear acrylic sealant

Epoxy resin kit

Resin mold

Craft stick

Toothpick

Newspaper

Box

Procedure

Cover your workspace with newspaper.

Coat the dried flowers with either Epoxy clear-coat spray or a clear acrylic sealant. Dry the coated flowers for at least 24 hours.

Create a mixture composed of resin and hardener. The proportion should be one is to one.

Using a craft stick, stir the mixture until well blended.

Allow the mixture to set so the bubbles dissipate. Around three minutes.

Pour the mixture into a resin mold. Only fill the mold to half its capacity.

Place the dried flowers in the mold facing down. Use a toothpick to lightly push down the dried flowers. This encourages trapped air bubbles to rise up and dissipate.

Wait five to ten minutes for the resin to partially set. Make sure to adjust the dried flowers with the toothpick once in awhile.

Fill the mold with more resin to cover the flowers.

1Pop any air bubbles that will appear with the toothpick.

Leave the mold in a warm and dry room to set for 48 hours. To prevent dust particles from settling on top of the exposed resin mold, cover the mold with an upside down box.

Once set, remove the preserved dried flowers in resin by lightly pressing on the mold.

The beauty of fresh flowers need not go to waste. Drying flowers is a popular method of extending their lives so you can still use them as decoration. Once dried, you can preserve the dried flowers from damage using hairspray or casting them in resin. This will give your dried flowers a new lease on life.